Andy Barker, P.I. was, by far, my favorite new series to premiere during the winter of 2007. Andy Richter’s second foray into half-hour comedy was a hybrid comedy/mystery series, co-created by executive producers Conan O’Brien and Jonathan Groff. Although a critical darling, it only lasted six episodes before vanishing from the air. Luckily, the smart people at Shout! Factory have chosen to release the entire series on this new 2-disc DVD set. In addition to each episode containing commentary by Groff and at least two cast members, there are excellent bonus features including a look back at the show with interviews with all the major players.
Richter stars as the titular character, a nerdy accountant who has always succeeded in life. When he opens a private practice in an L.A. strip mall, Andy expects business to take off. It doesn’t. Instead, he waits patiently for the hours to pass before returning home to his loving, perky wife, Jenny (Ellen’s Clea Lewis). At the strip mall, Andy quickly befriends Simon, the manager of a video store (played by the hilarious Tony Hale, late of Arrested Development) and Wally (Marshall Manesh) an Afghani restaurant owner. In the pilot, a woman mistakes Andy for Lew Staziak, a retired private investigator that used to occupy the storefront where Andy now runs his office. Although he tries to convince the woman he’s no private dick, the money she slaps down in front of him — and the intrigue of being a gumshoe — is too thrilling to pas up. Simon, a walking encyclopedia of old movies, comes along as Andy’s sidekick. Eventually Andy runs into Lew Staziak (Fargo’s Harve Presnell), and the retired tough as nails P.I. becomes Andy’s mentor. (more…)
HawthoRNe in My Pride: TNT’s new “sensitive” medical drama kicked off June 16 and appeared, at least at first glance, to be heavily courting — and perhaps even banking on — the erstwhile ER audience. HawthoRNe is centered on the director of nursing at a Richmond, Virginia, hospital and features Jada Pinkett Smith as single mother/chief registered nurse Christina Hawthorne, whose calling card is putting others’ needs before her own.
It’s inevitable these days that a conversation with Lisa Loeb is going to circle back to food. Sure, she’s a once-and-perhaps-future pop star and, more recently, an actress and reality-TV maven who even opened up her search for love and personal fulfillment to E!’s unblinking cameras a couple years ago. But lately she’s been devoting more and more of her time to the pursuit of culinary bliss – both as a consumer and as a creator.
Seems Uncle Donnie has recently taken a shine to the King of Pop; this particular missive was near the top of the Skwatzenschitz archive. MJ could do worse than follow some of the advice therein; then again, he could also almost assuredly do better. —RS